Fight Inside
by Mystical Authoress
Summary: Sequel to 'Monster.' It's been two weeks since the Cagemaster's tournament ended, and everyone is trying to rebuild it to the way it should have been. In the midst of all of this, someone unexpected returns to the scene. Now, everyone has to deal with the unexpected return, the shocking news that follows it, and an old enemy that may have come back from the dead...
1. The Unexpected Return

**Author note: I do not own Super Smash Bros. Nor do I own the song that inspired this fic, 'Fight Inside' by Red. I do own my OCs, though.**

**This is the sequel to my fic 'Monster.' For those of you who have not read it, I suggest you read that first before reading this one.**

**Hey there, all of you readers out there; from those that are anonymous to those who have fanfiction accounts! I'm so glad I'm finally beginning the sequel (albeit a lot earlier than originally planned), and I'm looking forward to reviews from you guys (all reviews are welcomed-except for flames and any that's irrelevant to the fic because there's no point in really writing any...)! **

**Warnings: Violence, mentioned swearing, pairings (some are obvious at the beginning, but some will occur later on), blood and gore (though not graphically described too much), and a little crossdressing at times.**

**Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope you guys read and review! Thanks so much! :)**

* * *

**_Fight Inside_**

* * *

_It's been two weeks since the twisted tournament of Cagemaster Illustria ended. The Cagemaster has dissapeared, the surviving Smashers have started to rebuild the tournament the way it should be, and they are recovering from the past eleven months of Illustria's tournament._

* * *

**_1. The Unexpected Return_**

* * *

The Magician stood in the courtyard, his eyelids closed. Taking a deep breath, he caught the sweet scent of the fragile blooms nearby, and he let out a deep sigh as he looked around, opening his light blue eyes to the early afternoon sun. A small smile appeared on the Magician's face, content with his surroundings. A light breeze sailed through the courtyard for a moment, and the Magician pushed aside a few locks of light blond hair from his face. The atmosphere was as peaceful as always, and the Magician was thankful for it.

Being in this place gave him more time to think, and he had much more time to think ever since the tournament ended. Back in those days, the only time he had to completely process his thoughts was whenever he took a shower. Yes, things had been much more chaotic then; though it came with a few good moments, despite the painful events that had happened, especially in the last few weeks of the tournament.

"Magician?"

The Magician turned to see the Hierophant walk over to him silently as he looked at the Magician with those amber eyes of his. The older man appeared to be concerned about something.

"Is anything the matter, Hierophant?" The Magician asked. "Don't tell me Death got the kitchen on fire again or something..." He trailed off, remembering the previous day in which Death had attempted to cook lunch and ended up with the stove on fire.

"No, it's nothing like that, I can reassure you." Hierophant responded. He hesitated before speaking. "It's just that you've been acting awfully cheerful lately, despite everyone else being all mournful for the dead fighters and for the Cagemaster. It's almost unnatural..."

"I-I'm fine!" Magician responded quickly with a quick smile, and he faltered slightly before he finished. "Blame me and my old habits, I suppose, to smile whenever there are tough times."

"That is true." The Hierophant paused, pushing a lock of dark brown hair behind his ear before continuing. "I don't think it's just that, though; it's like you're hiding something."

"Hiding?" The Magician faltered again before responding, "I'm not...trying to hide anything. Or maybe I am. I can't decide which one."

"I think it's the latter." The two made direct eye contact as the Hierophant spoke. "I understand that you're trying to stay cheerful for everyone, but everyone has the time to mourn. You don't have to always be like this, Magician...You don't have to hide your real feelings from everyone else."

There was silence. And then the Magician burst into tears, clinging onto the Hierophant's shirt and sobbing into the older man's chest. The Hierophant sighed quietly as he tried his best to wipe the younger man's tears away with a hand; he didn't have a handkerchief available right now.

"I know that...It's just...It's so bloody hard to try to be cheerful while everyone is gloomy and not smiling!" Magician continued to speak while he was sobbing, which made it difficult for himself to be heard at times. "I don't want to stop smiling and let anyone down; especially not you or Link or Miss Samus! I don't want to be weak at times like this!"

"I understand." The Hierophant stroked a few strands of the Magician's hair, holding him closely. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's not your fault. It's mine. It's my fault alone for bottling up my own feelings when I know I probably shouldn't have..." The Magician paused before continuing to speak. "It's not just that I'm sad about. I usually can just know on instinct if someone is dead. I know Illustria, I mean the Cagemaster, is gone, but I can't shake the feeling that she's not dead. That she might be out there." He whispered the last line so that only the Hierophant could hear.

"Oh?" The Hierophant paused before speaking again, in a whisper. "That's...certainly intruiging. Tell me more."

* * *

"Lucario...how long exactly do you plan on using that punching bag?"

Lucario paused, turning to see Strength. The aura pokemon paused before he answered.

_"Just a few more punches. I'm only at 195 so far, and I want to get to 200 without breaking the punching bag." _Five punches later, Lucario stepped back. _"You can use it now."_

"Actually, I wanted to talk with you..." Strength trailed off. He hesitated before he continued. "I'm just wondering...what was your reaction when you read my history? The Hierophant told me that he, along with you, Magician and Falco, read all the histories. I just...want to know how you reacted when you read mine."

Lucario thought for a moment before answering. _"I was always wondering, during the tournament, why you regretted killing Gannondorf on the first day of the tournament. When I read your history...I could understand why. You don't like killing, unlike half the Arcane back then. It's...understandable."_

"You're not...mad that I technically killed my own stepmother and failed to protect my sister?" Strength asked, confused.

_"Of course not!" _Lucario responded. _"You never meant to let either one of them die...and it's not your fault it was coincidentally hunting season when you and your sister ran into the woods to escape your abusive parents! You tried so hard to protect those close to you; and you have succeded at times! It's no wonder Illustria named you Strength; you are strong, and you shouldn't weaken yourself with degrading statements like that."_

There was a moment of silence, and the Strength nodded quietly with agreement.

"Thank you..."

* * *

Everyone was in the dining hall, eating and drinking and talking with each other. Samus smiled in amusement as she watched Kirby eat half a ham in one bite. Sun, on the other hand, was trying to ask Kirby to slow down, in fear that he would get a stomachache later in the evening. The red-haired Arcane fighter had always acted as a sort of parent figure towards Kirby; something Samus was glad about. It was because of Sun that Kirby had never fought in that twisted tournament, after all.

"Samus?" The bounty hunter turned to her left to face the Devil. She swallowed a bit, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief before speaking again. "I feel as if something out of the ordinary will happen tonight." The Devil remarked.

"Like Death getting the kitchen on fire for the second time?" Samus joked.

"Um...no." Devil paused, brushing back a lock of black hair before responding. "I'm thinking it's as if something or someone will return to us. Someone or something very close, I might add..."

"And...why do you feel this way?" Samus asked, confused.

The Devil shrugged, her golden eyes blinking a bit. "No reason...Unless you can think of the theory of the Cagemaster ever coming back." She responded quietly.

"Devil, you know Illustria is dead. Stop acting like she's still alive and wandering about somewhere...It's not good for you."

"I'm not the only one feeling it. The Magician feels the same; I spoke with him earlier about this. And...I think it just might happen about _now_."

Just as Devil finished her sentence, all of the lights went out. The Hierophant let out a shriek of terror and clung onto the Magician tightly, who quickly held him close and reasurred him it was just a simple blackout; that everything was okay and there was no evil creature out to get them. Some of the Smashers started grumbling to themselves while others let out sounds of frustration or panic.

"Alright, who turned off the lights!?" Fox demanded. "It better not be you again, Toon Link, just so you can freak us out!"

"I'm nowhere near the light switch!" Toon Link protested.

Before anyone else could start arguing, the lights went back on. It took a moment to realize that there was one more person in the room.

A figure, cloaked in black from the shoulders down, a hood obscuring their face, stood still at the entrance to the hall. Then, without warning, the figure collapsed.

Pit caught her in his arms before the figure could hit the ground, and the dark hood fell back to reveal...

_"I-Illustria?"_ Pit whispered aloud, looking at her in shock.

Illustria's colour-changing eyes gazed at him weakly. "Pit...All of you..." She started to speak as she touched Pit's face with one hand, but then she fell into unconsciousness.

Death stood, knocking aside the chair she had been previously sitting in. **"Cagemaster!"**

* * *

_**"GET HER TO THE HOSPITAL WING! HURRY!"**_

_**"She's dying, she's bloody dying!"**_

_**"Help her, quickly!"**_

_**"HOW!?"**_

Lucario put up a paw to silence everyone's panicked cries.

_"I can help her. I can transfer some of my aura and replenish her health in that way..."_

Mewtwo turned to Lucario, alarmed.

_"Are you sure about this!? Once you give up some of your aura to help someone in this drastic a situation, you might lose all of it in the process. You could die of aura loss-"_

_"Mewtwo." _Lucario gave him a serious look. _"I can handle this. We can't just stand by and let Cagemaster Illustria die. We can't."_

With that, Lucario kneeled by the Cagemaster's side. He extended a paw to her forehead, and closed his eyes. The aura filters on the Pokemon's head rose into the air, and a soft blue glow surrounded the Pokemon, slowly transferring itself to Illustria's body. Soon enough, both Illustria and Lucario were both glowing, and then, suddenly, the glow faded. Lucario's crimson eyes opened, looking a bit blood-shot.

Strength put two fingers to Illustria's neck for a pulse. "She's alright." He spoke. "She's going to be okay..."

Some of the others sighed with relief.

It was then that Lucario stumbled onto the floor, unconscious.

"Dang it, no!" Meta Knight shouted, dashing to Lucario's side.

_"Get them both to the hospital wing, NOW!" _Mewtwo shouted. He knew that they had no time to waste. The Magician shouted something about keeping an eye on Lucario and Illustria before he left the room, and everyone else followed.

* * *

The wait took so long...and everyone was so tensed up that no one could get themselves to stop worrying.

Was the Cagemaster really alright? What would happen to Lucario?

Was Lucario even still **alive**?

The Magician walked out of the hospital room Lucario and Illustria were in, and everyone turned to him. "How are they?" Link asked.

"They're both stable. They will have to stay here for some time to rest, but they could probably be let out in a week at the latest..." The Magician trailed off.

Link sighed with relief. "Thank goodness..."

"But..." Everyone froze when they heard the Magician continue. "Illustria's alright. Her lifespan has been extended a good twenty years at the least. But Lucario..." The Magician cringed, before letting out a statement no one else ever thought they would hear. "Lucario only has approximately _six months_ to live."


	2. A Conversation

**_2. A Conversation_**

Lucario lay in the hospital bed, thinking to himself as the only sounds in the room consisted of the machines beeping to his and Illustria's pulses, and the sound of Illustria's slow breathing.

Six months. It's an awfully realistic period of time, Lucario thinks to himself. That means he has 183 days to live, and 4392 hours to live until he's dead.

He glanced at Illustria. The Cagemaster looked so peaceful in her sleep, lost in a world of dreams and hopes. Dreams and hopes...did Illustria have any of those left, since the tournament finished? Lucario was unsure of that. But if she did, she had a good amount of time to accomplish those dreams. Lucario didn't have that much time anymore.

Illustria stirred, blinking her eyes open. "Where..." She paused, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "Where am I?"

_"Illustria?" _Illustria's head turned to look at Lucario, her colour-changing eyes making direct contact with his crimson ones. _"We're in the hospital wing. I...I transferred some of my aura to your body to replenish your health. Magician said that you should live a pretty long time, I think it was about thirty years; but...I'm going to die in six months."_

"...That's quite awfully realistic." Illustria spoke carefully. "But...I don't understand...why? If you did not interfere, you would have lived longer."

_"You would have died if I hadn't interfered." _Lucario responded. _"I was surprised when you came back. I think the vast majority of us thought you were gone for good..."_

"I apologize for that. I...left everyone at such a drastic time, but my thoughts were so jumbled up that I needed to clear things up. I faked dying, teleported to a subzero wasteland, and meditated there for the past two weeks, just trying to clear my thoughts and get a sense of what I should do. I'm so selfish..." Illustria paused before she let out a sigh. "How have things been during the time I was gone?"

_"Everyone's been recovering from the tournament. On a general basis, most of us are still kind of upset, but are slowly getting back to their normal selves. The Magician keeps trying to cheer us up; but even he has his breaking point...I saw him sobbing in the courtyard earlier in the afternoon. He and the Hierophant have gotten closer than ever, Strength and I have become good companions to one another, I suppose, and Sun's protective over Kirby as much as Meta Knight, too. Although Sun and Meta sometimes argue, and then Strength has to pull them apart."_

"That certainly sounds like how Sun would get along with Meta..." Illustria smiled a little. "I'm glad the Smashers are getting back to normal; albeit slowly. And it really does sound like the Magician to try to cheer everyone up."

"True indeed, Cagemaster." The two turned to see the Magician step into the room. "I apologize for eavesdropping, but I'm glad that both of you are awake now." He sat by the Cagemaster's bedside. "I missed you. I think all of us did." He didn't appear to mind that Lucario had mentioned just earlier about seeing him cry.

"I apologize for leaving all of you." Illustria spoke as she tried to sit up, but the Magician gently pushed her back down.

"You need your rest..." The Magician paused for a moment before speaking again. "I asked Pit if he wanted to talk with you, but he said he couldn't get himself to. I think he's pretty shocked by your return. He probably just needs time to get over the shock. For some reason, I think it's because of something else...I just don't know what exactly..."

* * *

Pit sat in his bedroom, thinking.

Illustria was back. She was back, and alive. He still couldn't believe it.

The angel could still remember her dying in his arms, begging him to recreate the tournament to the way it should have been originally.

Illustria had seen him as her 'light' in that previous twisted tournament. She upped his rank. She even invited him for dinner, for goodness sakes! And now she was back. Shouldn't he be rejoicing?

Maybe the reason he felt so frustrated was because she was back, and trying to recover like everyone else. Maybe he was frustrated because he just knew, deep down, Illustria was bearing the aftermath harder than most of the fighters.

Maybe she bore the aftermath just as hard as he did.


	3. Visitors

**_3. Visitors_**

It was a week since Illustria had returned. Lucario was up and running about in the 'Smash Mansion,' as the fighters came to call it (even though the building wasn't really a mansion, and more of a gigantic stadium attached to what could be fifty mansions combined). Illustria, however, was still bedridden in the hospital wing. The damages to her body were a bit more serious than Lucario's own, and therefore needed more surveillance under the careful eye of the Magician.

Pit still hadn't really talked to her, Lucario hadn't talked much to anyone and now was meditating more often, and everyone else was still trying to get over the shock that Illustria had returned.

Illustria's most regular visitors consisted of three to five people.

First was the Magician. This was obvious, since he had to take care of her and help her recover physically. He also sang for her at her request, read books to her at night after 'visiting hours' were over, and sometimes the Hierophant accompanied the Magician, too. Illustria enjoyed their company very much.

Second was the Devil. She played the violin for Illustria every single time she visited her, and that was quite comforting. The two would talk, cry, laugh together, and sometimes the two would just hold hands together in silence, enjoying the silence and the fact that they were alive. Sometimes at night, Illustria swore that the Devil was right outside the hospital wing in the courtyard, playing that violin. It served as a lullaby, helping her sleep peacefully.

Third was Death, who engaged Illustria in long conversations that lasted for hours and hours. Illustria had tried to tell Death that she should try playing with the other kid Smashers for a change, but Death had merely shaken her head and told her that they probably wouldn't have an iota of a clue of the stuff she knew.

The last two were the most notable, and the most often besides the Magician.

Falco and Kirby.

* * *

"Hey, Illustria." The avian Smasher entered the hospital room, accompanied by the pink puffball. "How's being bedridden going?"

Illustria sighed a little as she sat up in bed, adjusting the pillow behind her. "Alright, I guess..." She paused for a moment before she finished. "Kind of boring when there's no visitors, though."

"Heh. Hope you get out of here soon, though, then you can really see all the improvements to the tournament that's being planned..." Falco grinned a little as he sat down on a chair beside the bed. Kirby opted to hop onto the bed and sit beside Illustria. "Lucario's been mediating a lot. The last time I had an actual conversation has to be at least two days ago. I wonder what he's thinking about."

"Poyo poyo..." Kirby trailed off.

"Kirby's got a point there." Illustria pointed out. "It's possible that's he's trying to get over the fact that he's going to die in six months. I honestly don't know what he would be thinking, but that is a possible theory."

"Poyo...Poyo!" Kirby responded.

"You think he might be making a mental list of what to do in the next six months?" Falco asked. "Why?"

"Poyo poyo poyo!" Kirby just responded, waving his stubby arms about.

"Whoa, slow down! I can't figure out what you're saying!"

"He's saying that Lucario might be making a list of what to do in the next six months so he won't be moping around and waiting to die." Illustria responded, laughing a little. "I honestly think that's an interesting reason for doing so."

"Ehh...Guess it makes sense. It would be just like 'Rio to do that." Falco responded, shrugging a bit. "Lucario always seemed to be the type to figure out something to do to get out of boredom. Even if it meant meditating for several hours straight."

Lately, Illustria felt that she might be getting a bit closer towards Falco and Kirby. That they weren't enemies as she thought of them and the other Smashers in the previous tournament, that they were actually friends. Not enemies, but friends.

_Friends..._

Illustria never thought she would have a friend outside the Arcane before. Not really, considering back then that she a ruthless, merciless person who _selfishly_ thought that almost everyone out there was an enemy; that there were so many people that were cruel and destructive and out to destroy her; and that the only way to make things right was to destroy them first and cast _'judgement'_ upon them.

She had twisted the Arcane because of that. Even the most innocent of them all, the servant who smiled at the worst of times, even a little girl who had this pure love towards the one who broke her heart, and even the man who had done so much to protect his sister from their parents' abuse.

But now...things were different. No one was getting destroyed. No one was being hurt intentionally.

And she had friends, people that were there to support her as she continued to recover from the twisted tournament.

Pretty much everything was getting better.

Except, in her opinion, of what Pit might be thinking of her, because she had blatantly lied to him and hurt him so much.

* * *

The Magician smiled as he glanced at the now snoozing Illustria, Kirby asleep in her arms and Falco asleep in the chair. The scene just looked kind of cute, he admitted to himself, and they all did look so peaceful in their sleep. It reminded him a little of the old days, far before the tournament, when he would see his old master's children asleep in their beds with little smiles on their faces. He closed the hospital room door quietly, so as not to disturb them.

The scene reminded him of old memories; such peaceful, pretty memories from before the nobles he served were kiled. Before he was wrongly accused of killing them. Before he was stoned by the townspeople.

"Magician?"

The blond-haired Arcane turned to see the stocking-capped Hero of Twilight standing in the doorway of the hospital wing.

"Oh, Link..." Magician trailed off, surprised to see him. He glanced at the room Illustria and the others were in. "Visiting hours are over. Illustria, Falco and Kirby need their rest..."

"I'm not here to visit Illustria, although I probably should..." Link paused before speaking. "I came here to speak with you."

"Oh." The Magician quickly nodded before he and Link walked to a nearby table and sat on the chairs. "I see...What is it about?"

Link took a deep breath before he spoke. "I wanted to apologize to you."

"Apologize?" The Magician seemed a bit confused there.

"...Yeah." Link paused before he continued. "I said some really harsh things towards you when you told me you were Lumos. I didn't realize that...your past...all those townspeople, they..." He sighed quietly. "I'm sorry."

"You had a right to be angry with me." The Magician responded quietly. "I was being someone I truly wasn't in front of you; quite literally. I shouldn't have deceived you like that. Forgive and forget?"

Link nodded quietly. "Yeah...Thanks." The two were silent, unsure of what to say. It didn't matter though. What mattered was that they had finally reconciled with each other after so long.


	4. Lies and Truths

**_4. Lies and Truths_**

"You lied to me."

Samus crossed her arms as she spoke. She and Strength sat down beside each other on a bench in the courtyard.

"You told me that your biological mom died when you were born. What really happened?"

Strength sighed, running a hand through his hair before responding. "I suppose you sniffed out the lie that I incorporated into my story when I told you about my past. My mom didn't die when I was born. She was an alcoholic, did drugs and was really never home. Father was always beating me, and sister was the only one who cared for me at all. I think you remember the rest from there."

"Yeah. Your stepmother tried to kill you." Samus paused before asking, "Why did you lie about your biological mother, anyway?"

"I honestly don't really know. Maybe it was because I didn't want to be pitied too much. I don't want to be treated like some kid, you know." Strength paused before continuing. "And compared to stepmother, at least mother didn't try to kill me."

Samus couldn't help but understand that reason. Her own past would be enough to make some people cry and sympathize with her, and she didn't wanted to be pitied too much, either. She didn't need to feel special like that, and neither did Strength. Not at all.

* * *

"This is kind of weird." Sun spoke up quietly. She and Meta were in the lounge, conversing with each other as they watched Kirby play chess...against himself. The puffball was moving one chess piece on the white side, and then he would waddle over to the black side and move another chess piece before going back to the white side.

"What is weird? The fact that Kirby is playing chess against himself, or that we're both watching him?" Meta Knight spoke.

"...Both." Sun answered awkwardly. The two were silent for a moment before she spoke up again. "And I should add the fact that we both keep watch over Kirby, too. He practically looks up to you as a father figure." She remarked.

"And to you as a mother figure." Meta responded, the masked puffball adjusting his mask slightly before continuing. "I haven't really thanked you for taking care of Kirby while I was fighting in that twisted tournament."

"No, it's fine. Kirby still being alive and well is thanks enough." Sun responded, smiling a little. "I'm just glad that he's not scarred; that he's stil so...innocent and all. He's really lucky to have sidestepped all the tragedy of the past."

"Yeah...I know." Meta paused as the two watched Kirby let out a 'Poyo!' of frustration as he was struggling to figure out which black chess piece to move now. "Kirby was born from dreams and hopes, so he never had any parents. But everyone else helped him out with that. Despite him fighting all those monsters in Dreamland, and me at a few times in the past, he's fine. Heh...too bad everything can't go that way."

"Yeah." The two fell silent, unsure of what to say.

* * *

"Pit?" The angel looked up to see Falco sit down beside him. "You haven't been yourself lately since the tournament...what's up?" Falco asked.

Pit sighed quietly. "It's just...Ugh...I'm not sure. I still can't get my head wrapped around the fact that Illustria's back. It's so _weird_, that the girl who was dying in my arms is now alive and bedridden. It's just..." He sighed again. "I've got all these thoughts jumbled up in my head about her, and I can't get myself to talk to her, and I know I should..."

"Pit. I know it's probably weird for you. It's weird for me, still. Well, not as much as when she actually came back, but you get the idea. She's probably wondering why you haven't spoke to her at all. Illustria's been waiting for you, Pit. She wants to speak with you for once; she needs to let it all out and she's scared that you hate her or something. She told me all of this."

"Why would she think that I hate her?" Pit asked.

"She has blatantly lied to you before. About the Magician's current well-being when you dined with her, about a lot of things. And she has hurt you both physically and maybe emotionally. She was so mad at you when you tried to find her and the other Arcane's histories. And now that you're not speaking with her, I think she's convinced that you probably don't want anything to do with her anymore."

"That's not true! It's just..." Pit didn't know what to say, but Falco cut in.

"Then why don't you go _speak_ to her!?" The avian Smasher snapped. "Pit, seriously, I thought that you would take her feelings into account on the current situation once she came back! And you haven't even spoke to her at all since she came back. Maybe she is right...that you don't want anything to do with her." With that, Falco walked away, shaking his head.

Pit shook his head silently. _I'm such an idiot. I need to talk with her. Now._


	5. Confessions

**_5. Confessions_**

"She is resting," The Magician had told Pit before the angel had gone into Illustria's hospital room. "I believe she would be delighted to see you, though. She has been waiting for quite a while."

"Thank you." Pit had responded. "Thank you." He didn't know what else to say. All he could focus on was simply telling Illustria about the whole situation.

Now, Pit was here, sitting on a chair by Illustria's side whilst she slept. Whatever he had wanted to say to her now, though, had dried up in his throat. He didn't know what to say anymore. Should he just go straight out with his feelings?

Well, it didn't matter, really. She _was_ asleep, after all.

Pit took a deep breath before he spoke.

"I know. I've been stupid and an idiot for the past while, and all I've really done was hurt you in the process. I apologize for that. I know I haven't spoken to you in so long. I'm sorry about that, too. After the tournament..." He paused before he continued. "After the tournament, I was all shook up when you supposedly died. I swore I was going to rebuild the tournament the way it's supposed to be, not what you twisted it into over the past eleven months. And...I couldn't face you when you returned because I was just so shocked you were alive. That you were alive and breathing. And all these feelings I had about you are so mixed up and I had to sort them out. I'm sorry for not talking to you sooner."

"It's my fault for starting it in the first place." Pit froze when he realized Illustria was awake. The Cagemaster sat up in the hospital bed, facing him. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have my mess of the results to clean up after me."

"How long were you awake?" Pit asked, bewildered.

"Since the past ten minutes. I was trying to get more sleep, but I suppose I've had enough for now." She responded. She paused before speaking. "I thought you hated me for everything I did. Especially after the library incident."

Pit immediately remembered what she was talking about, and shook it out of his head before he spoke.

"I don't hate you! I mean, sure, you lied to me, hurt my friends and everything like that, but you were so kind to me, too. And I know you hated those who were innocent being defiled and all, and you wanted to change that..."

"Yes. And I obviously took it to the wrong extreme." Her colour-changing eyes kept shifting colours as she spoke, never resting on an individual colour for more than a few moments. "I myself was foolish, I admit that. And..." She paused before she finished. "You have no need to hide anything from me. Like I have told you before...Never hold back. That also includes your emotions."

Pit immediately realized that he might have talked to her too late...

* * *

"Samus?" The bounty hunter turned to see the Hierophant walking over to her. He took a deep breath before he spoke again. "Can we talk?"

The bounty hunter only nodded, before the two headed towards the lounge.

The two talked for who knows how long exactly, but it was a talk they needed, the two still feeling a bit stressed about the twisted tournament and about Illustria's sudden return. The Hierophant kept apologizing for everything he could list, and Samus just kept forgiving him.

"You don't have to keep apologizing, you know." Samus told him. "That twisted tournament was over, and..."

"And during it, I obviously wasn't myself. Not really, anyway." The Hierophant responded. "Sorry for calling you lower rank."

"Ugh, stop apologizing already!"

"Sor-um, okay." The two paused in silence before the Hierophant spoke up. "You might not have realized, but I was a bit hesitant when I first got into my current relations with Magician."

Samus was confused. "Why?"

"Samus. I have killed people, I mean, I massacred half the village that the Magician lived in before, too! He is an innocent person who would probably wouldn't hurt a fly unless necessary! I mean...who wants to love a killer? A beast? A monster?" The Hierophant stood up, sighing a bit. "I'm just worried I will destroy him, kill him someday... That I am corrupting him in some way, deteriorating his innocence..."

"You're not a monster!" Samus told him, also standing up. "You don't deserve to be called that. Only the most wicked do, and you're not one of them!"

"...Then what am I, really?"

Samus didn't know what to say.

The Hierophant gave a sad chuckle. "Heh. I knew you wouldn't know that." He turned, starting to leave the lounge. When he got to the door, he turned his head back towards her. "If I am not a monster...then what am I? I think I'd be a soul without destination had the Cagemaster and the Magician not saved me in the past. Now I'm just an angel whose wings were clipped and were thrown away."


	6. Complications

**_6. Complications_**

"He tried talking to you?"

Illustria nodded. "I'm glad that he finally came to visit, I admit that, but I felt as if he was hiding his emotions. I just _know_ that he felt something negative towards me, perhaps betrayal, that I deceived him and all." She spoke in response to Falco's question. "I can't trust...I can't trust Pit if he's not willing to be completely honest. I'm sorry, I can't..."

"It's not your fault if you can't completely trust him." Falco sighed quietly. "I mean, considering I talked to him previously about the whole situation, he probably came to you impromptu because of that. I'm sure he'll come talk to you, Illustria, with complete honesty. Stuff so complicated like the tournament probably takes time. I mean," He paused for a moment. "I used to have a girlfriend. Her name was Katt. The thing was, I was usually away doing my work and other important stuff, and..." He sighed quietly. "She just couldn't wait anymore. I think you can understand the rest from there."

"She couldn't get over the fact that she had to wait that long?"

"...No." Falco let out a low chuckle. "Don't get me wrong; I'm past that now, but the rejection still kinda stings at times. I think a lot of relationships have to do with tons of patience. I think you and Pit need to ask yourselves if you guys have enough patience. I know you two aren't, well, in that sort of relationship, but it's something pretty close to that line..." He trailed off awkwardly. "At least, that's how I see it."

"Poyo poyo!" Kirby spoke up with agreement (though he honestly didn't get what dating really was, putting into consideration that he doesn't really know how relationships work, him being basically a kid and all).

Illustria paused for a moment before she spoke again. "I don't know what I'd do without you and Kirby, Falco." She remarked quietly. "I think you'd make a good marriage counselour. Have you ever considered that as a future occupation if you get sick of hunting down sickos like myself?"

"First off, you're not a sicko, and second..._Marriage counselour?_ Whoa, hold on a second!" Falco exclaimed. "Why do you ask?"

Illustria only chuckled a little before she gave an explanation.

"The Magician told me recently that he wishes to _marry_ the Hierophant. Don't tell anyone."

* * *

The Hierophant sighed quietly as he and Marth sat under a tree in the courtyard.

"What's the matter?" Marth asked, concerned.

"It's...about me and the Magician." Hierophant paused for a moment before he continued. "There's nothing wrong with the relationship, it's not like we're getting into any fights, but...I'm just worried I'm corrupting him in some way."

"How?" Marth asked. "I don't get how you could be corrupting him..."

"I'm a killer, Marth. I was quick to massacre half a village." The Hierophant responded. "Who wants to love a killer?"

"I don't think the Magician cares about that. He doesn't care of what you did. He knows that you didn't mean to do it, and-"

"I know that!" The Hierophant paused before he continued. "Remember the tournament? He nearly went insane under my influence! Even though I was trying to stop it, I couldn't, and..."

_"If that's the case...I can give you another chance to start over, affecting you to the point that you will not have to worry about...corruption of someone innocent."_

The two turned to see a figure, cloaked in grey. The skin of the figure appeared to be a neon blue, glowing a bit.

"Who are you? What do you want!?" The Hierophant demanded, standing up and facing the figure. Marth also looked at the figure carefully. For some reason, the swordsman couldn't help but think that this figure was...very familiar...

_"My name is of no importance. All that matters is that I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself." _The figure responded. _"I can bring back the villagers that you killed, and you will be hailed as a hero for defeating the beast that destroyed your parents. I can even...bring back your parents, as well. All you need to do is accept my request for you to join me."_

"Don't do this-" Marth started, but he was immediately thrown into a tree by some unknown force. Gold chains appeared out of nowhere, tying the swordsman to the tree and making him immobile. "Hierophant!"

The Hierophant didn't know what to do. Should he trust this man that he barely knew, or heed Marth's warning?

"Are there any other conditions for me if I wish to accept your offer?" The Hierophant asked.

_"Nothing else." _The figure responded. It extended a hand towards the Hierophant. _"Do you wish to accept my offer?"_

The Hierophant paused for a moment, hesitatant. Then he spoke.

"No."

The figure seemed a bit shocked. _"But...why!? I'm giving you the chance to have your family back, to bring back those you never meant to kill! WHY!?"_

"If my family was never killed, I wouldn't be worried about the dark. And if I wasn't worried about the dark, I would never have killed the beast. And if I never killed the beast, the villagers wouldn't have hailed me as a hero, anyway! And what about my loved one, the man I love?! He would be dead!" The Hierophant responded, taking out his sword and pointing it at the figure. "I'm not going to let my lover die like that, just for the sake of my family and the other villagers! And besides..._the dead can't be resurrected!" _The Hierophant took a deep breath before he concluded. "I don't know who you are, or where you came from. Maybe you do have the ability to change fate like that, but if it's going to hurt the ones I love and cherish now, I refuse to accept your offer!"

With that, the Hierophant let out a scream and charged at the figure, blade pointed.

He was thrown back by an invisible force, just like Marth. The Hierophant got to his knees as the figure glared at him with dark crimson eyes.

_"I will see to it that you will regret not taking my offer when you had the chance. The next time we meet, perhaps you may consider otherwise..."_

"Never." The Arcane fighter whispered quietly. The gold chains restraining Marth dissapeared as the figure faded away. Hierophant turned to Marth, a bit confused. "Marth...who was that?"

"I can't believe it." Marth murmured under his breath, before he spoke a bit louder so the Hierophant could hear him. "I'll explain later. We have to tell the others about this, first..."


	7. Discussion

**_7. Discussion_**

"You're kidding." Link spoke. "You actually saw him?"

"There's no mistaking the neon blue figure underneath the cloak. The Hierophant and I even saw his eyes." Marth responded. "Tabuu's back, and he's alive."

"Dang it!" Wolf muttered. "I thought we killed him already! Didn't he explode and everything after Pit gave the final blow?!"

"That's what I thought, too..." Falco trailed off. "If he's around, we've got to be careful, especially if you say he tried to get the Hierophant over on his side. Maybe he's going for the rest of the Arcane, too...maybe even Illustria. We have to be cautious about him, and destroy him like last time. That's what I think we should do."

"I'm sure we can defeat Tabuu like last time." Samus tried to reassure him. "Good triumphs over evil, right?"

"Does that theory work every time?" Everyone turned to see Illustria enter the room as she spoke.

"Illustria!" A lot of the Smashers were surprised.

"You're up and running around now, aren't ya?" Falco asked, cracking a small grin. "Couldn't stay in bed any longer?"

Illustria shook her head. "No. I conversed with the Hierophant just earlier, and he told me of this issue. He is now in private conversation with the Magician, if I'm not mistaken. I wish to join in on this conversation about this...Tabuu." She sat down beside Falco, and Pit realized she was sitting across from him. "I've heard of Tabuu before. He is the ruler of Subspace, correct? I heard that as long as Subspace exists, he exists..."

"Makes sense." Pit responded. "But Subspace collapsed when we defeated Tabuu. If that's the case, how come he's still alive?"

"Perhaps there was still a pocket of Subspace left somewhere that he escaped to, to recover from his injuries." The Devil responded. "That's my theory."

"True."

All of the Smashers were unsure. What were they to do? And the timing just had to be _convenient. _Just as they were rebuilding the tournament, their old enemy had come back from the dead.

* * *

"He offered to ressurect everybody that you didn't mean to kill?"

The Hierophant nodded. "Yes." He spoke quietly in response to the Magician. "But if I let him do that, I probably would not have been chosen by Illustria to be a part of the Arcane. I wouldn't have met you. You would have died of stoning. Either that, or we really wouldn't have crossed paths."

"Yeah. It was through Illustria and the tournament that we met. It makes sense if you put it that way." The Magician replied. The two were silent before he spoke up. "I'm not sure what I would have done if I didn't meet you."

"The same goes for me."

The two were silent for a moment, and then the Hierophant spoke again.

"Magician...I've been thinking...about...our relationship, and..." He appeared to blush a bit. "I know it's been rough throughout the tournament, and things are still kind of rocky now. But despite that, we've grown close. And before you ask, I haven't been practicing what I'm saying or anything like that and..." he sighed. "I don't really know how people do this easily."

"Do what easily?" The Magician asked, confused.

"Propose to the one they love." Hierophant spoke, but then realized his mistake. "Shoot."

The Magician broke into a small laugh, but then calmed down. "You wish to marry me?" He asked. The Hierophant nodded quietly. "Why didn't you tell me earlier!? I really wish to marry you too!"

"What!? Seriously!?" The Hierophant gasped. The two blushed, before they broke into a small laugh together. "Oh my gosh...thank you."

"No, no, thank you." The Magician spoke quietly. "You're the one that helped give my life a little more meaning. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't there."

"The same goes for me."

As the two kissed, Death and Young Link watched, before giggling to each other and running off to tell everyone else.

* * *

**Author note: Darn it...aagh, I'm sorry for not updating so soon...and for this really short chapter...**

**So, we find out that Tabuu is back, and...the Magician and the Hierophant get ENGAGED! (insert the wedding bells echoing here) **

**All of you readers out there, reviews and constructive criticism would be really nice, please. Thanks so much for reading! :)**


	8. A Celebration

**_8. A Celebration_**

"YOU'RE _ENGAGED_!?"

"I'M HEARING WEDDING BELLS IN THE NEAR FUTURE, PEOPLE!"

"I knew they'd propose to each other eventually!"

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

"Aw, this is so cute! They would totally make a beautiful wedding couple!"

"WHEN IS THE WEDDING!?"

"Magician, are you going to wear a wedding dress or a tuxedo?"

"Everyone, slow down with the questions!" The Hierophant exclaimed. "How did you guys even know-" He then paused mid-sentence as soon as he spotted Death and Young Link, grinning mischeviously ear to ear. "YOU TWO ARE DEAD MEAT, I'M TELLING YOU! DEAD MEAT!" He shouted as he chased them out of the room.

The Magician turned to Illustria. "You told them?" He asked her.

Illustria shook her head. "No. Young Link and Death both reported a few minutes ago that they saw you two proposing to each other and making out. End of story." The blond Arcane fighter immediately blushed of embarassment at that statement.

"Well, at least we've got something happy to talk about in the midst of a couple bleak things." Falco remarked to Illustria, before turning to the Hierophant, who just came back into the room, obviously tired of chasing the two kids. "When's the wedding?"

"Um...well..." The Hierophant faltered slightly. "We should make sure Lucario's there for the wedding, taking the rest of his lifespan into account, but we can't rush it entirely, so...in three months, maybe?" He ended awkwardly, glancing at the Magician, who just shrugged in response.

Lucario grinned. _"I would be more than happy to be able to attend the wedding." _He spoke in reply, nodding in confirmation. _"It would be terrible if I couldn't make it due to death. It wouldn't be nice to have a funeral right before the wedding."_

The Devil was also grinning. "I think we just honestly use the rest of the day to celebrate this joyful occasion." She spoke up, before a black violin and matching bow appeared in her hand. "Who's up for a little music making?"

"Alright! I'm in!" Zelda spoke, getting out her harp. Toon and Young Link took out their ocarinas, and Link seated himself at the piano. They counted to three before going into a impromptu jam. Some of the Smashers immediately started dancing while others clapped to the beat. The next thing everyone knew, they were partying, they were laughing, they were chatting and eating together.

For once, everything just seemed to be the way that things were meant to be. For just this one time, they could just forget about Tabuu, and rebuilding the tournament, and all the tragedies that occurred in the past.

* * *

Illustria sat by the fireplace, sipping a cup of hot cocoa. When Marth heard that the Cagemaster had never drank cocoa before, he insisted that she try some. She had to admit, that the cocoa, despite it being a bit hot for her tastes, was very, very tasty.

It was funny, she supposed, how the swordsman that lost two of his best friends and actually fought against her, had become so friendly with her within not much time. All the people that went against her before the Smashers never would have done anything like this, let alone help her to survive the injuries she sustained in that last battle against all the Smashers.

It felt a bit strange to her. No one had ever really treated her this nicely besides the Arcane before. Really, the current situation right now was definitely something unfamiliar to her, and-

"Poyo poyo!" Kirby interrupted her thoughts as he sat beside her with a cookie in hand, and paused before offering it to her.

She spoke a quiet thank you before receiving it, smiling back at him.

The situation was unfamiliar to her, but...it was definitely much more comforting than her horrid past experiences. It was all really much better than everything before, and she was fine with that.

* * *

**Author note: I know, basically a filler chapter. The next chapter will probably be a tad more serious, but I think I'll wait to post that one until after Christmas, probably by around Boxing Day. I think it would be terrible if I made people sad on Christmas, hence why I'm doing so. **

**This is basically my way of saying "Happy Holidays!" or "Merry Christmas!" or "Joyeux Noel!" or "Feliz Navidad!" or whatever you say your holiday greetings! I know it's early to say such things because it's not even Christmas holidays yet, but I want to wish you guys all the best for your winter holidays! :) **

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Tempted

**_9. Tempted_**

Death and Young Link clashed blades, the two leaping backwards before Death lunged at the other, daggers raised. Young Link sidestepped the attack before trying to punch her, but he missed by a hair. Death and Young Link were having a friendly brawl, nothing serious, really.

Samus and the Devil watched from a distance. The bounty hunter noticed the dark-haired violinist crack a grin on her face.

"What's with the grin?" Samus asked her.

The Devil shrugged in response. "I don't really know. Maybe it's because I never imagined that Death would be fighting people and not killing them at the end. I don't know." She responded, still smiling. "It's amazing what experiences can shape someone as young as her into. The jealousy. The love. The hate. The loyalty to others. She's no normal kid, that's for sure."

Samus paused before speaking again. "I know that Death's loved one in the past broke her heart when she saw him get married to that other girl." She spoke quietly. "I still can't believe that she was that angry about it..."

"Have you read my history?" The topic came up quite suddenly. Samus gave a single nod in response. The Devil took a deep breath before continuing. "Those people that controlled me...the fools they were. Beating me...taking all the money I earned myself from playing my precious little instrument in public...mocking me. They were fools. And it angered me that much to desire to kill them. I wanted to be free from them. I wanted to make a path for myself. They were holding me back. I was probably...no, definitely had the same anger level as Death did, except for different reasons. But the anger is all there." She turned towards Samus. "Death loved him that much, Samus. She really, really did."

* * *

"C'mon, Young Link!" Death shouted as she dodged another punch from the other. "Give me what you've got!"

Young Link grinned as he raised his sword. He then rushed at her-

Only to suddenly get pulled back by what seemed like a dozen, shimmering gold chains.

"Wha-" Young Link started, but his mouth was covered by one of the chains before he could speak any more.

"Young Link!" Death started to rush towards him, but the sound of a voice halted her in her tracks.

_"Death. Can you hear me?"_

She froze, and turned. Standing a couple paces from her was a figure, cloaked in black. She couldn't really see the face of the figure; all she could see was neon blue skin.

_Neon blue? _Death thought to herself. _Wait a second..._

"You're Tabuu, aren't you?" She asked, pointing one of her daggers at the blue-skinned man. "The Smashers told me about you. If you're going to hurt Young Link, you're going to have to get through me!" She shouted, throwing it at his face.

Tabuu caught the dagger with one hand. _"I don't wish to cause any unecessary conflict. All I wish to do is talk to Death." _As he spoke, he used his free hand to make some sort of gesture, and Samus and the Devil were bound with chains as well. He then threw the dagger back at the young girl, and she caught it, before sheathing it.

"Fine. If that is so, what's your game?" Death asked, suspicious. "No funny business, mister Tabuu, or I won't hesitate to attack."

_"I heard that you had a loved one. I can bring him back to you, if you wish. He's been missing you." _

Death's eyes widened considerably, and she appeared to hesitate before speaking. "How is that possible? Doesn't he already...love someone else? He married someone, I saw him with that girl at the-"

_"He left her as soon as he could." _Tabuu cut her off. _"Now he wants to see you."_

"Don't fall for it, he's lying-" Samus started, but a chain struck her face, cutting off her words.

Death hesitated again before speaking. "Prove it."

Tabuu merely stepped to the side. Everyone else's eyes widened in shock as a person, about Death's age or slightly older, stepped into the clearing. He had a sort of lanky figure, with a dark green sweater and black jeans contrasting with the pale skin. He had straight, slightly disheveled slate-coloured hair, and some of it covered his right eye from view, and his eyes of cerulean looked at her gently.

"Theda?" He asked quietly.

"Terow?" Death didn't know what to do. All she could do was stare. "Is that you?" She asked after a moment of silence.

He nodded. "I am." He then smiled at her silently. "I missed you. I'm sorry." He whispered quietly.

_"I told you that he wanted to see you." _Tabuu appeared to almost smirk as he spoke. _"There is only one condition I give for you to be with him. Join me. Join my side, and he is all yours."_

"I..." Death paused. "I..."

**"Don't do it!" **Everyone turned to see a figure, similar-looking to Terow, run into the clearing. He panted, having run so much earlier. "Theda, don't listen to that figure! That Terow is a fake!" He screamed at her, panic in his voice.

_"You're the fake." _Tabuu growled back at him. He then turned to Death. _"On second thought, let me change that condition slightly...kill the faker," _He gestured to the Terow-look-alike as he spoke, _"And then you can have your lover."_

"Theda, don't listen to that faker..." Terow trailed off. "Tabuu's right! Kill him!"

A snarl appeared on Death's face, and then she lunged...

Stabbing Terow in the chest with one lone dagger.

Terow's eyes widened in shock. "Why..." He trailed off weakly.

"The real Terow would never encourage me to kill anything! He cherished life, unlike you, you faker." Death snapped back. "Sorry, Tabuu, but I'm going to have to say no to your deal..."

That Terow disspated into nothing but tiny purple dots, before suddenly vanishing. The real Terow exhaled slightly, appearing to be relieved and perhaps, Samus noted, a bit surprised. The chains dissapeared, and Samus immediately got her Arm Canon pointed at Tabuu. Young Link pointed his sword at Tabuu, and Death pointed her dagger at Tabuu as well. Before anyone could do a thing, though, someone interrupted them.

**_"Leave my children alone, Tabuu. You have no right to try to mess with them in any way, even psychologically."_**

They turned to see Illustria, a sword in each of her hands. She glared at the blue-skinned man, obviously with the intent to fight him if she needed to.

Tabuu growled slightly. _"It seems I am outnumbered for now...very well. I will take my leave for now, but this isn't the end of me."_

With those words being said, he dissapeared into thin air, as if he was merely a hologram.

Illustria walked over to Death. "Are you alright?" She asked her.

Death nodded quietly. "Yeah..." She turned towards Terow, who walked over to her. "How did you...why are you..." She started, but Terow immediately started to answer.

"I swear, I _never_ wanted to be married to that girl. Blame the village people for that." He started. He paused for a moment before continuing. "I ran away the night after the wedding, threw away the ring. I also swear that I never slept with her. I tried to find you Theda, and the next thing I know; you're Death, one of the Arcane, and in Illustria's tournament. All I could do was watch from the sidelines. I should have-I could have-I'm sorry. Please believe me, I swear I'm telling the truth." He ended, getting on a knee, his head bowed towards her.

She placed a hand on his head, messing up his slate hair a little more. She shook her head quietly, sighing a bit.

"I always told you, Terow...you apologize too much for your own good."

Illustria smiled a bit. "Well, that's resolved nicely." She remarked. "I think the Tower would make for a nice addition to the Arcane."

"The Tower?" Samus spoke, confused. "Wait, don't tell me you-"

"I found him earlier, shortly before the rest of you encountered Tabuu." Illustria explained. "He said that he wanted to see Death. Perhaps Tabuu saw him before then and figured he would try to use an apparation of him to his advantage. It's a good thing we got there in time..." She paused before continuing. "Much has changed with him in the past year. He hasn't just been searching for Death. It appears that he himself also has supernatural abilities of his own, enough to match Death in battle, I'm sure. It's only fair that he joins after all that effort."

"Tower...isn't that an anagram of-" Young Link paused before speaking, "Terow?"

Devil nodded. "Yeah. All of us in the Arcane have our titles as anagrams of our real names, except for me; because I never really had a true name until I killed my old masters and escaped, Illustria; because of the same reason, and Sun; because that was actually her real name from the beginning, and making an anagram with three letters is too difficult. Death's real name is Theda, as you heard just now. The rest...I'm sure the other Arcane wouldn't mind telling you eventually."

"We should probably tell the Smashers about this." Death spoke up. "C'mon!" With that, she pulled the Tower away by the arm, and everyone else followed.

Meanwhile, a Primid watched them with its leering red eyes, before skitting away to find its master.

* * *

**Author note: Introducing another OC of mine...Terow, known from now on as the Tower! (though the names for the Arcane *the ones that actually have anagrams for their names, that is* will become interchangeable eventually in the fic)**

**List of Arcane and their real names revealed thus far**

**Death-Theda**

**Tower-Terow**

**I hope you guys didn't get too angsty here. Merry Christmas! :)**


	10. Figuring Things Out

**_10. Figuring Things Out_**

"Wait, wait, wait...Tabuu's talked to Death now!?"

"There's a new Arcane member!? The Tower?"

"Whoa, whoa, everyone calm down!" Death exclaimed to the other Smashers. "Tabuu tried to get me to his side by using an illusion of him," She pointed at the Tower, "Because I used to love him. And thankfully I wasn't stupid enough to get fooled. That's kind of what happened, really." She ended casually. As everyone else greeted Terow/Tower and continued to discuss, Mewtwo gently pulled Death aside into the hallway outside the room.

Death sighed as she looked up at the feline psychic. "What is it, Mewtwo?"

_"It's nothing completely major. It's just that I'm surrpised that you can speak of something so serious so casually..."_ Mewtwo noted. _"I imagined that you would be much more...emotional. Especially that you're reunited with your lost love."_

"Yeah. I know." Death muttered quietly. She glanced at Young Link and Terow in the other room before she continued. "But...things really changed since I left him, you know. I joined the Arcane, the elite of Illustria's tournament...And now I don't really know what to really do now."

Mewtwo exhaled a bit before speaking in reply. _"That's not something I can help with. Figure it out yourself, Death. You're strong enough to do that."_

* * *

"There's another new member of the Arcane?" Strength spoke up.

Sun nodded. "Yes. The Tower, they call him. I think he's only a year or two older than Death." She answered. "His real name is Terow, and...he used to be the guy that Death was in love with. He ran away on the night of the wedding to that other girl and threw away the ring in search of Death, apparently."

"I see..." The other Arcane fighter paused as he briefly glanced at the others, talking with the Tower, before he turned towards Sun. "Sun, do you think that Tabuu might go after us next?" He asked quietly. "I mean, he's talked to the Hierophant and Death already. The rest of the Arcane are probably the next targets for recruitment."

"It's possible. Tabuu's tried Death and the Hierophant, there's still Magician, Devil, you, and me, as well as Cagemaster Illustria. I don't think Tabuu's going to bother going after the Tower, considering that he interfered with Tabuu's attempt to recruit Death." Sun murmured softly in response. She glanced at Kirby, who was chatting happily with the other Smashers. "I hope that Tabuu doesn't dare lay a hand on him especially."

"You've grown really fond of him, haven't you?" Strength spoke up. "But I suppose it makes sense. He is the most innocent out of all the Smashers, personality-wise and background-wise."

"...I didn't want him getting killed, or worse, scarred by such events." Sun responded after a moment of hesitation. "And...Illustria cherished innocence, too, so she wouldn't object to this. If...all of us in the tournament had to go out and kill each other...I wanted Kirby to stay away from that. The matches can be so scarring, you know, and...I didn't want that for him."

Strength just smiled at her. "You did a better job of protecting him. Scratch that, you do a better job of protecting anyone than I could ever do." There was a hint of sadness in his tone, and Sun knew why, she knew too well about his past; the abusive parents, his failure to protect his sister, who was the closest person to him at the time...Of course Strength would feel such weakness in himself...

* * *

"You don't look pleased. Nor does Death. I thought that you two would be happy to see each other again." Illustria spoke as she and Terow sat beside each other in the lounge. "Is there anything the matter?"

"I'm not sure if I want to talk about it." The Tower responded quietly.

"It's okay. I've had Death, Magician, and all the rest of the Arcane rant to me at least once during my tournament because there was so much getting to them. And I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Heh. You seem so motherly towards the Arcane, at least according to Death's point of view." Terow remarked quietly, leaning back on the couch. "Did you ever think that you would be taking care of your 'children,' as you put it when you were shouting at Tabuu earlier?"

"...I never considered becoming a mother." Illustria started. "The Devil rescued me from those cruel masters. I was twisted at the time, I was only thinking of crazy thoughts of destroying the Smashers and such, not raising children or anything. But...now that I think about it; when I recruited the original Arcane, they were...All kind of...What are the right words for this? Falling off the cliff, maybe? If I hadn't rescued some of them, they would be dead, kicked the bucket. I couldn't leave them like that. Looking back on the tournament now, I really did act a bit of a mother figure, however twisted, so...I think it's up for interpretation."

"I see." Terow paused before speaking. "Alright, alright, I hope you don't mind me sharing my sob story of what happened exactly in detail after I got married to that girl."

The Cagemaster just nodded quietly. "Go ahead and start. I'm listening."

* * *

**Author note: Yup, Terow/Tower's history is next! Yay! :)**

**Sorry that I haven't updated this in a while...hopefully I can get the next chapter up slightly sooner. Then again, taking into consideration that the holidays are ending, it might no be any time soon, so please be patient! Thanks so much!**


	11. History: Tower

**_11. History: Tower_**

Why?

Why did Terow let himself submit to this, to get married to this girl he never loved?

He didn't know how long Theda was gone, and she'd came back just as he kissed that girl. And the bride and everyone else laughed at her. He tried to say something as soon as she saw him, an _I'm sorry _or _forgive me_ or something like that, but she had already run off by then.

He had to find her. He didn't care what it was going to take.

He packed two spare outfits for himself, a rain jacket, a jar full of paper dollars and metal coins (it served as his piggy bank, in a sense), eight bottles of water, a map, and a visor (to shield himself from the sun's rays with). He put on his usual sweater, with loose jeans and his favourite sneakers, and mussed up his formerly slicked back, slate-coloured hair back to its normal state. He took off the wedding ring and threw it onto the floor before leaving.

No need to worry about his bride. He'd slipped a sleeping drug into her glass of wine when she wasn't looking, and was now snoring on the floor.

* * *

He was running out of supplies after about eleven months since he left the village he used to live in all his life. The money helped buy him more food to eat (at every town he entered, he would stay there for a while and get a job to earn more money for the journey), but he was running out of that, too. He needed money. Food. Maybe temporary shelter.

That was when he entered another town, and saw the poster taped to a phone booth.

_**TOURNAMENT OF CAGEMASTER ILLUSTRIA!**_

_**Featuring the Smashers of the previous Super Smash bros. Tournaments, it's a battle to the end!**_

_**New fighters, the Arcane! Magician, Hierophant, Devil, Sun, Strength, and Death!**_

Death? There were pictures of these 'Arcane.' He didn't recognize any of the pictures except for-

"Theda." He spoke quietly, touching the picture of her with one hand. The dark hair and her face were definitely familiar to him. "You've joined a tournament?"

"Didn't you know? It's a brand new tournament featuring the Smashers!" He turned to see a boy, about his age, walk over to him. He wore loose jeans with a dark green t-shirt. His dirty-blond hair was put up in a mullet, and a few bangs hung in front of his face. "They've got new fighters and everything, and they're literally fighting to the death! It started eleven months ago, man!"

"Really..." Terow trailed off. "I didn't think Theda, er, I mean, Death would join something...like this..."

"You know her?" The other asked. "That's so cool! I'm a fan of her! She's a really good fighter out there in the tournament!" He extended a hand towards Terow. "My name's Myde. Yours?"

"Terow." Terow responded, shaking hands with Myde. "I've been looking for her. Death, I mean. For the past eleven months. Thing is, I'm running out of supplies and stuff and..." He took a deep breath. "Can you help me?"

"Sure!" Myde responded, grinning. "Totally! Don't worry, you don't have to worry about nagging parents, it's just me in my apartment. You can move in with me for a while. That okay?"

"Sure!"

* * *

It was really weird how he met Myde, but Terow figured it was well worth it. He had a place to stay for a while, he knew where Theda/Death was (apparently the building where the tournament was held wasn't far from Myde's apartment), and he had food to eat and stuff. He didn't have a job yet (which Myde reassured him not to worry, he could probably find Terow a job as a cashier at a snack shop or something) to earn money, but besides that, things were okay.

"I need to see her. I need to talk to her." Terow spoke with Myde as the two watched a tournament match on the small TV while sitting on a small couch across from it. "I don't know why she's joined this tournament and stuff."

"Does she usually not fight and nearly kill people?" Myde asked.

Terow shook his head. "No. The Theda I knew wouldn't do that." He responded quietly.

Myde was silent for a moment, but then he snapped his fingers suddenly. "I got it!" He exclaimed, standing. "Maybe we can sneak in there as audience members in the stadium, then sneak around in the building and hopefully go unnoticed and find her!"

Terow stared at Myde with wide eyes. "Are you insane!? They probably have security in there!" He responded. "How are we supposed to waltz into the building in the first place!?"

Myde held up two tickets. "I got these from one of the Arcane passing them out yesterday on the streets, the Devil, I think. They're free passes to a tournament match. Want to go?"

* * *

"Are you sure we're going to be okay?"

Myde nodded. "Yeah." He responded. "Do you think we should split up? We both have walkie talkies, so we can talk with each other if we need to. Ready?"

Terow nodded. "Yes."

The two had already gotten into the building by now, and they had broken away from the other audience members during one of the matches to 'go to the washroom,' as Myde had lied to the security guards (Alloys) about. They both looked at a door nearby. "Where do you think that leads to?" Myde asked.

Terow shrugged. "I don't know...Darn it! There's Alloys guarding it! What are we supposed to do!?" He whispered.

Myde grinned, taking out a bottle of something. "Leave it to me. As soon as those things are gone, get through that door, got it?"

Terow nodded. "Got it. Good luck."

"Good luck."

Myde shook the bottle, ran in front of the guards and threw it at them.

Carbonated water sprayed all over the two Alloy guards, who, surprised at first, started running after Myde down the hall. Terow immediately took the opportunity to slip through the door, hoping that he would be unnoticed enough.

* * *

As soon as Terow closed the door behind him, he realized that he may have walked into the wrong place. The greenery around this place was obvious.

Was he outside the building? Wait, no...There was a metal fence around the perimeter of this place. It must be a courtyard or something. It wasn't somethign he expected; since this was a tournament of fighters, but he supposed they would need to stop and smell the roses once in a while.

He climbed into a tree as soon as he heard people coming. Two figures, a pink puffball and a brown-haired woman wearing a dress walked by, until they were out of sight. Phew. Too close. He supposed they must be fighters. That brown-haired woman was familiar though, from the poster he saw with the Arcane's faces on it.

_I think that person was the Sun...hm. I guess I can't just be careful about security guards, it's the Arcane, too. _

He climbed down from the tree-

Just to see a man with long, blond hair run into him.

"Oh-"

"Ah-" Both didn't know what to say. Terow put his hands up, panicked, and shouted, "I DON'T MEAN ANY HARM! DON'T KILL ME!"

"Pardon? Kill you? Goodness gracious, no!" The older man replied, his light blue eyes looking at Terow gently. "I wouldn't do that, especially to a complete stranger, it's obviously not very nice." His head tilted to the side as he pushed a strand of hair behind his ear. "Did you get lost, perhaps?"

"Uh-well-I need to see someone." He blurted out. "Death."

"Hmm..." The older man paused for a moment. "I believe she is preparing for her match, but considering you took all this time and effort to look for her, I suppose I can let you wait in my room until after the match."

"Really!?" Terow couldn't believe it. He'd been trespassing, and this guy was going to help him see Theda? "Wow, uh, thanks...Um, my name's Terow. You're one of the Arcane, right? I remember seeing your face on a poster..."

The other nodded. "I am one of the Arcane, the Magician. It's pleasant meeting you, Terow." He spoke, bowing slightly.

* * *

"Please come in." The Magician spoke, smiling as Terow entered the room. "The TV is over there, just use the remote to turn it on. Also, I can get you a cup of tea, if you wish...I've never had anyone from outside the tournament or besides the Arcane...visit me before, really."

Terow sat on a chair across from the TV before turning to the Magician. "No, I need any tea, and...why don't the other fighters visit you? I assumed they would have to communicate with you. I mean, it's a tournament..." He trailed off.

"Oh, well, I mean, the Hierophant and the other Arcane do talk to me as well as Cagemaster, but barely any of the Smashers wish to communicate with me, especially Link. Link doesn't like us Arcane very much." The Magician sighed quietly. "I can undestand why, though..."

"...Why?" Terow asked, confused.

"..." The Magician hesitated for a moment before answering. "We Arcane have killed a few of the Smashers before...Of course they would hate us. But yet, the Smasher by the name of Samus Aran approaches me...She's very kind. It would have been nice if I could find her for you so you can meet her, but I believe she has a match this morning so I cannot."

Terow looked carefully at the Magician. The older man's facial expression looked quite solemn as he spoke, quite...unhappy. For some reason, Ted couldn't help but feel bad. If the Magician was so kind and such outside battle and yet had killed a Smasher (hopefully not voluntarily, Terow hoped), of course the Smashers would despise him anyway...If the Magician really had killed a Smasher before, he probably was regretting it an awful lot, even though he was forced to do such a task.

"I need to go watch the first match personally. It's the Hierophant versus Link first, then Death versus Peach. You can watch on the TV, and stay in here. Just don't touch anything personal." The Magician spoke as he left the room. Terow nodded in response. The door closed with a soft click, and Terow turned to the TV and clicked the power button the remote.

* * *

On the screen, he saw two fighters enter the arena. One was a young man with blond hair tucked underneath a dark green stocking cap, Link. The other was an older man with almost-shoulder-length brown hair and wearing black and red robes, the Hierophant.

As the match began, the two fighters lunged at each other. Punches and kicks were exchanged, but then suddenly Link rushed forward and stabbed the Hierophant in the torso with his sword. The Hierophant looked sick as soon as Link pulled out the blade, and after a moment he stumbled forwards and vomited all over the swordsman.

Terow just stared at the screen in shock. That was something he never expected to happen, but then he heard the Hierophant speak.

_"__Sorry_...about ruining the floor like that. And your clothes. Didn't mean to do that." he smirked a little bit. "That look on your face is hilarious. Entertaining. Something I love to see from anyone. But I thought you would be _satisfied_ with what you did to me."

_"What?" Link hoarsely whispered, wanting to ask more, but the words were stuck in his throat as the Hierophant continued._

_"Don't you want to see the blood pouring from my wounds? Don't you wish to feel the scarlet life-giving liquid all over your hands? Of course you do. Because..." The Hierophant touched Link's face with a bloodstained hand, covered with his blood. The Hierophant's own blood. "You're just as merciless as everyone else here, Link, and you keep forgetting that. Everyone is merciless. **Everyone**..." he slid his hand off Link's face, before punching the Hero in the face._

_Link fell on his rear, not expecting the blow, and he got up quickly, brandishing his sword and ready to strike again when-_

_The Hierophant kicked Link in the stomach(which caused Link to drop his Master Sword) , punching him again in the face and picking him up by the tunic collar. The Hierophant smirked._

_"It was a pleasure to fight you, boy. I win."_

With that being said, Link was thrown against the metal fence surrounding the two and slumped to the ground, unconscious as the crowd cheered. Moments later, the Hierophant fell backwards, only to be caught in the Magician's arms, before he and Link were carried out of the arena.

Terow didn't know how to react. He turned off the TV temporarily and thought to himself a bit. _..I guess the Arcane don't like Link, either. Or at least, the Hierophant doesn't. I wonder if any matches are just as disturbing to look at as this..._

* * *

Terow turned on the TV again, to see a blond-haired woman, Peach, enter the arena along with...

"Theda." He spoke her name allowed. The outfit Theda/Death wore was completely black, she had knives in her hands, and her facial expression was cold, blank. Usually he would have seen her face be full of life, of happiness at spending time with him. This was Theda, but Theda would never...she would-

* * *

_Before Peach realized it, her left arm had been slashed by the blades and the wounds were dripping with blood. Peach tried to take out her frying pan, but Death grabbed it and threw it out of the way, attempting to stab her face. Peach ducked, tripping in the process and falling to the ground._

_Before she could get on her knees, she was lifted up wildly into the air by some unseen force. Death just stared at Peach silently, not saying anything for a moment._

_"Do you know what love is?" Peach didn't know what to say in response, but Death continued, walking around her in circles. "Have you ever experienced it? No, I don't mean the love between relatives or from your friends, I mean that romantic, **close** connection between husband or wife...or at least something close to that. I know I have loved someone...long ago, long before I joined this tournament. Did you?" She then stopped walking, giving a cold stare towards the princess' eyes. "Or were you like one of the fools that would play around with the emotion they call love, causing affairs and ruining the devoted love they had with another?" Death slashed her knives together several times to sharpen them, as she spoke, and at the same time, Peach was slammed against the fence, paralyzed. "I hate to admit it, but that pretty little face of yours reminds me exactly of the time that...that monster took away the man I loved. I never got to kill her, so now I'm going to kill you...and it's not going to be **painless**."_

_With that, Death stabbed into Peach's right arm and slowly cut downwards through the flesh, the princess trying her best not to let out a scream of horror. Blood flowed from the wounded flesh, dribbling onto the ground._

* * *

Terow just wanted to throw up right there, but he did his best to hold it in as the gory scene continued.

_Theda would never-she couldn't-no, it can't-she can't be-she can't be hurting others! She never would!_

But she was.

* * *

_"This is just wonderful...amazing..." Death's face took on a look of awe, a small smile gracing her face as if she had found the most beautiful butterfly hovering in a garden. She looked up at Peach the way a daughter would look up to her father, and all Peach could do was cringe as pain and blood washed over her body. Death slowly slid one of the blades across the princess' cheek, drawing more blood. "Your blood is so warm..."_

_"You...how would you know anything about love?" Peach suddenly snapped. "You're only a child! You don't know that much as you think you do!" she then coughed, blood dripping out of her mouth._

_Death's face twisted into a snarl. **"That's IT!" **she screamed, stamping her foot. **"No more playing games...I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU! How dare you say that, you monster!"**_

_The Arcane fighter stabbed into Peach's stomach again, cutting into the flesh as if she was putting brushstrokes against a canvas. Peach let out a hoarse shriek, struggling against her invisible bonds, but the efforts were truly in vain._

_Death smiled at the cut-open internal organs of the princess seeping blood, and pointed a bloody dagger at Peach's chest._

_**"I've had enough with you, princess. Fare thee well." **_

_And with that, four slashes across the Toadstool Princess' chest splattered blood all over the floor, all over Death's clothing and hands and face, and all over the bloody princess._

_Death wasn't finished yet. She slowly put a hand to the wound on the dead princess' face and then put her hand on her cheek, spreading the blood all over her face. Her sadistic smile widened, her eyes blood-shot._

_**"I never realized until now that there was a warmth like this...it's almost like...almost like...as if I've fallen in love again."**_

* * *

Terow turned off the TV and threw the remote, the object hitting the wall and landing on the floor as he took a few deep breaths to try to calm himself down.

Gosh. No. Couldn't be, but it was to be...

The girl he loved had turned into a sadistic killer with no mercy at all.

Before he could go into a frenzy of thoughts, that was when the Magician burst into the room.

"I can't believe she...She...Did that..." Magician murmured to himself, his eyes looking completely full of worry and shock. He didn't pay any attention to Terow as he paced about the room for a moment, before turning to Terow quite suddenly. "Young Master, what are you doing in the servants' quarters? Were you looking for me?" He asked.

"Wha-uh, Magician, what are you-" Terow started, surprised at this sudden change of behaviour when the Magician shook his head a bit and bowed his head a little.

"My apologies. Old memories." The Magician spoke quietly, solemnly as before. "...Death is not available, unfortunately. She is currently with the Cagemaster, and-"

"I need to see her! Please!" Terow begged the Magician, standing up. "I have to! I don't know what's gotten into her and I need to know!"

"I can't let you."

**_"I LOVE HER!"_ **

As soon as Terow shouted those words, the Magician gave an icy glare towards him, silencing him.

"So _you're _the one she loved? How could you...how could you let yourself be sold to marry a _whore_ when Death did _everything_ she could to gather up her courage and _confess her love_ to you! How could you!" The Magician snapped back.

"I never let myself get sold to that whore! I snuck out on the wedding night and I swear I never slept with her!" Terow shouted back, his hands balling into fists. "You've got it all wrong!"

The two were silent for a moment. And then the Magician spoke six words, ever so softly and gently, but so venomous at the same time.

"Leave this place. _Never. Come. **Back." **_

Terow gladly left. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to see Theda anymore...

* * *

"I didn't come back. At least not until approximately two hours ago." Tower started to wrap up his rant. "For the past while since then, I kept wondering why...why Theda would do this, and...It was all my fault. I should have persisted and tried to communicate with her beforehand, I could have-"

Illustria shook her head. "No, child. You needed time to think through this. Seeing someone so kind turn into someone entirely different than when you last saw them can be quite jarring, and I was the main cause of her madness, as well as the other Arcane. You only wanted to see her again as what you knew her as. I can assure you Death is probably much...more rational-minded, but I think it will be a while before you two make amends. It'll have to be quite slowly, I imagine. Then again, you two appeared to be making such amends already, so...just be patient. Death is a sweet child on the inside, I'm sure she will understand as much as you soon."

Tower paused for a moment. "That's good. Thank you. But, I have a question. Why did the Magician call me 'Young Master?' That's something used for a noble's child if a servant is addressing him or her..."

"...I think you will need to speak with the Magician to find out the complete information. I only know so much, and I don't think it would be nice if I told you without his permission."

"Right." Tower stood, before looking at Illustria. "You know, even if you did warp Theda a lot, you probably took better care of her than I ever could."

Illustria hesitated before responding. "No. I don't think so. You probably could do much better than I can."

* * *

**Author note: Three-thousand-seven-hundred words exactly. That's how long Terow/Tower's history is, including the last bit. I think this is my longest chapter so far...**

**So, I finally got it updated! Yay! :) Hope you guys liked it, and please review! Thanks!**


	12. Myde

**_12. Myde_**

"Oh man..."

"Hmm..."

The Magician turned to the Hierophant. "I've never planned for a wedding before." He spoke quietly. "It's so weird...and stressful, and weird...I mean, I never thought that I, as a former servant, would ever get married..."

"Nor have I, obviously." The Hierophant responded as the two sat together with tons of writing on the paper on the table. "Okay, let me get this straight; we're going to keep this simple, but elegant. We're going for that. The celebration dinner or lunch will have..." He looked up at the Magician. "Are we thinking fish, or chicken or beef?"

"I'm still not sure..." The Magician trailed off. "I mean, this is a wedding, so we can't do anything considered regular food."

"So not chicken?"

"Probably not." The Magician admitted. "I doubt too many people like fish, either."

"Beef it is, then." The Hierophant responded, scribbling it down on a paper.

"Wait!"

"What?"

The Magician paused before speaking again. "I don't know if some of us are vegetarian, have allergies or the like. We should try to keep that into account, since we can't have people dying during the wedding reception."

"Right." The Hierophant let out a sigh. "Three months to get this done...We've only got the decorations covered, and we need to figure out your outfit for the wedding-" He gave a grin at that statement. "Are you up for wearing a dress?"

The Magician blushed lightly. "W-well...I'm not sure, to be honest..." He trailed off.

"Ah, it's okay, you can wear a tux, too..." The Hierophant drawled in response.

"But a dress sounds nice." The blond Arcane fighter interjected.

"So you _want_ the dress!" The amber-eyed Arcane fighter crowed, letting out a few chuckles.

"I-I didn't say for sure!" The Magician was blushing completely with embarassment now.

"Anyway, we'll figure that out." The Hierophant reasurred him. "That part can come last. We need to figure out the food, what else one could do at the reception..."

"Maybe we should have an all out music jam or something."

"Dancing? Is there going to be dancing, too?" The Hierophant interjected here. "Because I doubt a wedding reception could go without dancing."

"Of course there will be dancing, Hierophant." The Magician smoothly replied as he smiled back at him. "And we'll be the first ones to dance."

"Indeed." The two leaned a little closer, about to kiss...

When Falco suddenly barged into the room. Both Arcane fighters turned to see him.

"Hate to interrupt your wedding planning, but we've got someone at the door claiming that he knows Terow. Do you know where Terow might be?" The avian Smasher asked.

"Um...I think he's with Death and some other Smashers..." The Magician trailed off awkwardly.

"Okay, good. Thanks." With that being said, Falco left the room swiftly afterwards. Both Arcane fighters just let out a sigh before continuing to hack away at the wedding plans...

* * *

Terow walked down the hall. "What does this guy look like?" He asked Falco, who was with him.

"Well, he's got dirty-blond hair in some kind of mullet." Falco started. "And he's got a green shirt on with jeans. His eyes are kind of a blue-grey."

"That's definitely Myde..." Terow trailed off. "He's a friend of mine. I was living at his place for the past month and a half while searching for Theda." He then froze temporarily, before cringing. "Crap...no wonder he came to look for me! I was supposed to give him a phone call telling him I was completely alive and alright after I found Theda..." He groaned. "And I forgot..."

"You totally did!" The two turned to see a mullet-haired teen run over to them. "Terow, why didn't you call? I was getting worried, dude! Seriously, you need to work on your memory, there's something wrong with it." He spoke up before giving Terow a huge hug. He turned to Falco. "Sorry. I couldn't wait in the office and I had to look around."

"Don't tell me you went and sprayed people with carbonated water, Myde..." Terow trailed off, letting out a sigh.

"Nah," Myde responded, holding up a can. "I used soda on the Alloys."

"Idiot!" Terow elbowed him lightly. "That didn't work so well the previous time!"

"Previous time?" Falco asked.

Terow took a deep breath before explaining. "Myde and I actually came here a while ago to look for Theda. He distracted some of the Alloys while I snuck past them. I ran into the Magician, who let me watch a few matches in his room. But after I saw Theda's match against Peach, he came back and we got into an argument. He kicked me out after that. Well, not literally, but you get the idea."

"I see..." Falco trailed off. _So he and Myde were in this building a couple weeks ago! I didn't know that..._

"I've got a shift being cashier at the nearby grocery store starting at seven this evening, so I was thinking maybe I could stay for dinner?" Myde asked. "And I want to get Theda's autograph because she is an awesome fighter!"

Falco exchanged glances with Terow. "Is he a total fan of her or something?" Falco asked.

"Well...yes." Terow responded before turning to Myde. "Hey, I'm sure no one else will mind about that. I'm sure it's good for people to have visitors once in a while, anyway."

As the three continued talking, a Primid snuck past them, hidden by shadows.

* * *

Pit sighed as he sat with Lucario. "I really should talk with Illustria..." He trailed off. "But I really don't know what to say. Last time I tried to speak with her, she dismissed me with the assumption that I still didn't really trust her."

_"Pit." _Lucario responded quietly. _"Do you trust her?"_

"Well..." Pit hesitated before speaking. "Yes. But..." He looked up at Lucario. "You can't fully trust everyone."

_"I don't think that's the right answer." _Lucario took a deep breath as he continued. _"With loved ones, it's completely about trust. Break that trust, that faith in her and it's ruined. I don't think it's ruined yet."_

Pit gave a small grin. "You think I actually...like her in that way?"

Lucario gave a single nod. _"Yes."_

"That settles it, then." Pit stood, before leaving the room. "I'll go and talk with her."

* * *

Strength stared quietly at the chessboard, trying to figure out what he should do next. Kirby had gone for a snack, and it was supposed to be the puffball's turn, so the Arcane fighter had time to think over what he might do next. Unfortunately, he was stuck.

_I can't move my knight anywhere, otherwise the queen is doomed. But then again, what if I used the bishop-no, no, that won't work...Using the rook would only buy me a little time, so it's close to useless at the moment. I need to get rid of that one pawn, but if I do, the king right behind it will eat my other rook..._

A small 'eep' and a thud snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see a pair of unfamiliar legs sticking out of a garbage can. He stood, before promptly walking over to the can and pulling whatever it was out by the ankles.

"You're a weird fellow..." He trailed off as he examined it carefully. "I wonder where you came from. You're no Alloy for sure..."

He suddenly felt that there was some sort of presence behind him, and it wasn't a welcome one. Instinctively he turned, dropping the creature and extending his arm, readying himself to punch whoever the intruder was-

And a neon-blue hand caught him by the wrist, holding it steady. Deep crimson eyes looked at him carefully as a voice resonated in his head.

_"Relax, Strength. All I wish to do is talk with you."_

* * *

**Author note: Phew. Finally, I got this out after so long! Sorry about the delay in updates lately; I've been hacking away at other multi-chapter fanfics and I kind of forgot about this one until now. I'll try to update more frequently, but no guarantees.**

**By the way, I own Myde, the OC who first appeared in Terow's history last chapter. **

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks! :)**


	13. The Light

**_13. The Light_**

"Talk with me? _Talk _with _me!?" _Strength shouted back, pulling his arm away from Tabuu and also taking a few steps back with his fists raised. "Let me guess, you're going to give me some deal that's a mere illusion and then persuade me to join your side? As if I would, you idiot! Go away!"

"Strength!" Meta Knight and Kirby rushed into the room, only to get knocked into a wall with one of Tabuu's golden chains. "Dang you, Tabuu!" Meta Knight shouted, taking out Galaxia. "If you think you can keep trying to sweet-talk our friends into joining you, well, you thought wrong!"

Tabuu snapped his fingers, and several other Primids appeared. Meta Knight and Kirby (who took out his sword as well), started to slash and hack through the beings. Strength still didn't make a move, his fists raised as he stared at Tabuu right in the eyes. The Arcane fighter then suddenly rushed at Tabuu, pulling back a fist before-

It got caught in one of the golden chains Tabuu had summoned. Strength cursed and tried to pull it free, but Tabuu instead sent him flying into a nearby wall.

_"Fine then. If that's what you want." _Tabuu hissed, before dissapearing. Replacing where Tabuu once stood was anothe wave of Primids, these ones looking a lot stronger than the ones Kirby and Meta Knight were facing.

Falco, Myde and Terow rushed into the room, seeing the chaos around them. "Aw, dang it, how did the Primids get in here!?" Falco shouted as he took out his blaster and started shooting. "I thought they wouldn't be existing-Oh, right. The Devil's theory about Subspace...Right..." He muttered to himself.

"Dang it..." Terow trailed off as he took out a boomerang. "Where's the other Arcane when you need them!?"

* * *

"A thousand stars, a thousand suns, all of which whirl about the worlds. But there is only one moon that they all revolve about ever so slowly within the depths of time."

The Magician paused in his reading, peering at the words a bit more closely. "Interesting." He murmured to himself. "There's something...There's something hidden behind the words themselves, I think, but...What is it?"

He let his fingers glide over the page, over the black ink letters of the book, and it gave off a quiet glimmer of light for a brief moment. He stared at the page in confusion, before looking at his hand.

_What was that? That's never happened before..._

He touched the page again, and the next thing he knew, he was enveloped in light.

* * *

"How many Primids are dead already!?" Meta Knight shouted as he decapitated a Primid.

"Um...I think about fifty..." Terow trailed off as he kicked one Primid aside before throwing his boomerang at another.

"Where are all the Primids coming from, anyway!? Is there some pocket of Subspace somewhere or something!?" Myde shouted to Meta Knight as he threw a chair at the third Primid that faced off against him.

Before Strength could open his mouth to answer the question for Meta Knight, light suddenly enveloped the room, and the dying shrieks of Primids were heard in the light. As the light faded, all the Primids were gone.

"What was that?" Strength asked after a moment of silence.

"I think it came from the library..." Terow trailed off, before rushing out of the room. "C'mon!"

* * *

"What the heck!?" Death stared as light glimmered from underneath the doors to the library. "What's going on in there? I should-" She started towards the door, but Illustria's firm grip on her shoulder stopped her. "What!? We have to figure out what's going on in there-" She began to protest.

"Leave it to me. Do not, and I'm telling you, _do not _let anyone go in there, not even yourself. Alright?" Illustria spoke to her firmly. Death gave a nod, and Illustria immediately rushed into the room. Moments afterward, the Hierophant ran over to Strength.

"What's going on?" The Hierophant asked Death quickly, his voice filled with alarm. He glanced at the light shining from underneath the doors. "The Magician is in there, and-"

"Cagemaster went in there just now, and she told me not to let anyone go in there-" Death started, but the Hierophant ignored her and ran into the room as well. Death just let out a sigh. "Sorry, Cagemaster..." She muttered to herself as several other Smashers and Arcane arrived at the scene.

* * *

**Author note: I know, I know, I haven't updated this in a while...**

**I apologize for the delay in updates lately. Life's been quite busy and I'm not sure when I'll be able to update more, but I think I'll have a little more time during March. Hopefully I can update either this fic or 'Rebirth' by then. I also apologize for this super-short chapter, but the next one should be longer, promise. Thanks for all your patience!**


	14. Puppet and Master

**_14. Puppet and Master_**

The Magician stood quietly, staring at the space around him. There were no walls, nor doors, nor a pathway in this place, and everything was nothing but white, except for him, obviously.

"What in the world is this?" He asked aloud as he continued to look about. "Am I in the book itself, or is this an illusion summoned by the book?"

"It's not exactly an illusion, and you're not exactly _in _the book itself, though you are close." The Magician turned to see the Cagemaster walk towards him. She pushed a lock of black hair out of her face before she continued. "All the books that I've written contain a little piece of my thoughts and theories. I think it's only natural they create their own worlds based on those thoughts and theories. Of course, only those who actually probe deep into its mysteries, such as you, or the people that write these thoughts and theories in the first place, such as me, are able to get in here. Although I suppose someone deeply connected to one who tries to probe into its mysteries could enter tis place, too, though there is less of a chance of that happening."

"That probably bloody explains why the heck I'm in here." The two turned to see the Hierophant walk over to them. "Sorry Cagemaster. When one is concerned for their fiancee, they don't just stand there, they go in and try to help."

The Cagemaster let out a sigh, and she seemed to face-palm herself temporarily before speaking. "...Hierophant...I'm assuming you just rushed in there and Death didn't even have a chance to explain to you what was going on..."

"Pretty much." The Hierophant responded, shrugging a bit. "Well, at least I know you're both alright..." He then paused, thinking for a moment before turning to Illustria with a panicked look on his face. "Um, there is a way out of here, right?"

"Of course there is! If there wasn't I probably wouldn't have existed in time to save you from making yourself kick the bucket and the Magician from getting stoned to death, nor would I have been able to meet any of the other Arcane except for the Devil. I figured this out at least a year ago, Hierophant." Illustria responded, crossing her arms as her colour-shifting eyes appeared to say, _Why else would I know about everything about this place, anyway? _"All you have to do is teleport out. Or wish to teleport out, if you don't have such abilities. That's basically how you get out of here and back into the real world."

Before either the Magician or Hierophant could say a thing, a soft, deep chuckle resonated in the space from behind them. The three turned, to see-

"Hierophant?" Illustria spoke after a moment of silent shock. "Do you think any of the Shadow Bugs that form Primids and all sorts of minions of Tabuu might have followed you in here?"

The Hierophant glanced at the figures in front of them, cringing a little, before turning to Illustria. "...Most likely."

* * *

"What's going on!?"

"Where's the Cagemaster!?"

"Tabuu tried to get Strength, too?! Who's next!?"

"Why can't we go into the library and find Magician, too!?"

"Everyone, please calm down!" Death tried to reassure the Smashers. "The Hierophant and the Cagemaster have already gone into the library to search for the Magician. I'm sure things will be okay, and-"

**_"OUT OF OUR WAY!"_ **Everyone turned to hear the deep roar from inside the library. On instinct, everyone took out their weapons, expecting a great enemy to burst through the doors.

Instead, Illustria, the Hierophant and the Magician were thrown through the doors, and they landed on the ground harshly. The Hierophant let out a groan of pain while Illustria was completely unconscious and unmoving. Only the Magician was able to get to his knees, before he muttered something quietly, yet loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Watch out for the..._The Puppet and Master..."_ He muttered, before collapsing to the ground. Samus, Link, Death, and the other Arcane ran to the three, immediately trying to get them to their feet and/or wake them up.

Two figures-both blurred by violet Shadow Bugs swirling about them-suddenly whirled out of the library, and Falco pointed his blaster at them. He tried to shoot them, but he just kept missing...

"Dang it, they're too fast!" Fox shouted as he also tried to shoot them. He and Falco (as well as Marth, Zelda, and Meta Knight) tried to run after them, but the figures were just simply too fast, as Fox had mentioned moments ago. Eventually, no one could keep up with the intruders, who had suddenly vanished into thin air.

"...Who were they?" Zelda asked. "I swear, they looked a bit like the Magician and the Hierophant..."

"...Zelda..." Marth trailed off. "They look _more_ than 'a bit' like the Magician and the Hierophant. I think we can be sure of that..."

* * *

"Well, that was interesting. I didn't expect for who-knows-how many people to try to start shooting us, huh Puppet?"

The Puppet gave no response from his current sitting position on the floor, and instead looked down at the attire he wore. It was a pretty dress, with ribbons criss-crossing at the cream-coloured bodice, frills at the similar-coloured skirt, and a rose-pink lace choker about his slender neck. He glanced at his wrists, which were also adorned with lace bracelets of the sort (and the same colour as the choker), before looking up at the man in front of him.

"You know you can speak. Or at least, I'm sure you can..." The Master muttered, crossing his arms briefly before bending down and extending a hand towards the Puppet. He stroked the Puppet's face with one hand, and the Puppet seemed to recoil at the gentle yet sudden touch. "Hey, hey, I'm not going to harm you. Just calm down." He tried to reassure the Puppet as he let a hand slide through his dark brown hair. "I know it's kind of creepy here, but this abandoned building is the best we can get. Trust me, I'll make this place a more, ahem, _suitable _place for us eventually."

The Puppet just gave him a blank look back, accompanied by a slight tilt of his head, just like some curious child.

The Master just let out a sigh in response to that, before taking out a knife and whirling it in one hand. "Oh geez, how long is it going to be before I hear your voice? I have a feeling things will only get more interesting..."

* * *

**Author note: So, I now introduce the Puppet and Master (who will later be known as the Puppetmaster sometimes). They are OCs, and I own them. Again, I know this is a short chapter (I was REALLY hoping to make a longer one, but I felt it would be best to end it here for now), but I'll try my best to make the next one longer. Thanks for your patience!**


	15. Questions

**_15. Questions_**

"Illustria?"

Illustria blinked a bit, trying to clear her somewhat fuzzy vision. She was sure someone was sitting by her bedside...But who? Who could it be? Link? Marth? Maybe Zelda, Kirby or Falco?

"Illustria? Are you okay?"

Wait, wait, wait. Brown hair, blue eyes, wings, toga...She had a good idea of who it was now.

"Pit." Illustria spoke as her vision finally cleared to see the angel. "What happened?" She asked, trying to sit up. Pit gently pushed her back down.

"You got attacked by some people called Puppet and Master. They look a lot like the Magician and Hierophant respectively..." Pit trailed off. "You got the most damage out of all of us. According to Mewtwo, you've got a sprained ankle. The Hierophant and Magician have a couple bruises, but they're okay."

The Cagemaster let out a sigh of relief. "That's good..." She paused, before speaking. "Pit, you said that the Puppet and Master looked like the Hierophant and Magician, right?"

"Um, yeah..." Pit responded, a confused expression taking over his face. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Well..." Illustria paused before starting to explain. "If we were to run into them, they might try to fool us into think that _they_ are the Magician and Hierophant instead of Puppet and Master. Identity theft is possible there. And-"

Pit sighed, face-palming himself. "Illustria, I'm sure they wouldn't be that stupid. Besides, they're wearing different clothing apparel, and-"

"You _know_ how much the Magician crossdresses, especially now that he's trying to figure out his wedding attire."

"...Right. Got it."

* * *

"I'm glad the Cagemaster is alright..." The Hierophant trailed off. He and the Magician were in seperate hospital beds, and Samus sat opposite them. The Magician was still resting to recover from the attack, so the Hierophant was the only one conversing with the bounty huntress. "Puppet and Master tried to attack her immediately. If we hadn't interfered, she might have been even more injured..."

"Those two looked exactly like you and the Magician, except in different outfits..." Samus trailed off. "Do you have any idea how they came into existence?"

"I believe that when Tabuu was attacking Strength, at the same time there were also Shadow Bugs under his command that may have followed me into the library." The Hierophant started, after a moment of hesitating. "They took on the form of the Magician and I, and they attacked. At least, that's what I'm guessing..."

"I see..." Samus paused, before asking again. "What was their behaviour like? Was it similar to you guys during Illustria's tournament, or...Was it different?"

"..." The Hierophant appeared to hesitate once again, looking deeply in thought. He then took a deep breath before answering. "I cannot say for sure about their behaviour, Samus. In some ways, they are like us, but in others they are different. I cannot give a full answer to that quite yet, as I only saw them for approximately a few minutes at the most before they ran away."

* * *

"Hey, Puppet? I'm back."

The Puppet looked up to see the Master enter the room. He was carrying a big bag, and it was obviously stuffed with something. He sat down beside Puppet before he started speaking. "I got some crackers, distilled water, two plastic cups for us to drink from..." He took out each item out of the bag as he spoke. "More distilled water..." He placed a second large jug of distilled water on the floor. "Two bars of soap, two bottles of shampoo...I checked last night and I noticed there was a bathroom, over there." He gestured to a nearby door after he put the soap and shampoo down. "I even got two towels, for both of us." He put the towels down as well.

Puppet didn't respond, and merely gazed at the huge jugs of water. He looked at the Master in confusion, and the Master answered his confusion quickly.

"Hey, we're probably going to run out of water first, considering we have to use these for drink and for bathing. These jugs were on sale and I was lucky I was able to afford all this with the money I pick-pocketed from some of those Smashers last night." The Master responded quietly, before taking out a pack of underwear. "Underwear for the both of us...I hope it fits...And that's it, really. I'll try to get some more stuff tomorrow, and maybe I'll try to get a job or something that can help us get some more money to buy stuff, okay?"

Puppet nodded, and the Master smiled back, nodding once before picking up the towels, soap and shampoo to bring to the bathroom when he heard Puppet finally speak.

"I-I...Um..." Master turned, seeing the counterpart of the Magician speak. He looked a bit nervous, and he spoke with a soft tone of voice. "I could get a job-"

"No." The Master spoke immediately, and firmly. He paused, seeing the Puppet cringe, before speaking in a much softer tone. "I apologize about that, Puppet. Look, I understand that you want to help, but..." He paused, before putting the supplies he held aside. He then walked back towards Puppet, before getting onto one knee and grasping one of the Puppet's hands with one of his own. "If you go out there, there are people that will try to hunt you down. I cannot have that happening to you, Puppet. Do you understand?"

The Puppet nodded, his eyes gazing into the Master's own. The Master just smiled back sadly and kissed the back of the Puppet's hand. The Puppet then broke into a few silent tears, and immediately embraced the Master, who rubbed gentle circles into his back with one hand

"Shh...Please, stop crying...It's going to be alright, Puppet. I promise that I won't let anyone get their filthy, harmful hands on you. I swear that entirely. Now please, stop crying..."

* * *

**Author note: I am aware that I haven't updated this in a while. Or 'Rebirth.' And I'm sincerely sorry for that.**

**I might update a little less often for this fic and 'Rebirth' from now on, because I started a new multi-chapter fic called 'Clarity.' It's in the Super Smash bros section, and it's a lot lighter than 'Fight Inside' for sure. And 'Monster.' And even 'Rebirth.' So, if you would like a (hopefully, as it continues) lighter-themed fic, please check it out! It would be really awesome, and reviews are well-appreciated! Thanks! :)**


	16. Scream

**Author note: ...How long has it been since I updated this fic? Probably at least a few months? Sorry for not updating in a while, I got a bit carried away with working on 'Clarity' and other multi-chapter fanfics and such...**

**Warning: There are spoilers for my fic 'Angel Red,' which takes place during 'Monster' after chapter ten, but before chapter eleven, for those who have not read 'Angel Red.'**

**Also...Updates for this might take very long to put up from now on. Very. Long. Why? Mainly because I've been so busy with tons of other fics...And life outside fanfiction, too...So expect the next update to be approximately a few months from now...I hope you can be patient, and thanks so much for reading so far. Now, on with the story!**

* * *

_**16. Scream**_

A pair of quiet voices roused Lucario from his sleep at 2:00 a.m. The Aura Pokemon sat up in bed, listening quietly to the voices just outside his door.

"He's _hurt?"_ Illustria's voice was heard first, panic getting into her voice. "Why? Who did this to him?"

"I think it was the Puppetmaster, Cagemaster." The Devil answered quietly. "I saw his face and clothing, it had to be him. He was torturing Pit, both mentally and physically."

"...Is he awake now? Can I see him?"

"He's sleeping. It's best not to disturb his rest, for he needs to heal, but..."

"Should we tell the others?"

"No, no, we shouldn't. Not now. They need to sleep; they've been through a lot already today..." The Devil paused, before continuing. "With Tabuu returning and Puppetmaster and Puppet in existence, too, it's like the Subspace Emissary all over again, it feels like. I know that none of us Arcane or you have been involved in it, but still I can feel the same dread that the other Smashers felt when conversing about that incident. Come on, Illustria. We can go to the infirmary and perhaps, at least, stay by his side 'til morning."

Footsteps echoed down the hall, and Lucario heard no more voices, except for his own questions echoing in his head.

...How did Pit even get tossed into the Puppetmaster's grasp in the first place, even?

* * *

"Puppet. Puppet, _wake up."_

The Puppet's eyes flew open, and he immediately sat up to face the Master, who spoke quietly. "I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep." He muttered quietly as he glanced at the Puppet through a black eye. "...Do you mind helping me fix up my injuries?"

The Puppet let out a sigh. "Got into a fight?" He inquired as he pushed the blankets off himself and grabbed a small box of bandages nearby. He opened up the box, before taking out the roll of bandages as the Master responded.

"Yes...Though I did win." The Master grinned at this statement. "Little Pit Icarus didn't stand a chance against the knives I got the other day. I knew they would be useful."

"...You tortured him." Puppet stated as he wrapped some bandages about the Master's arm, currently covered in several shallow cuts. "You tortured him with knives?"

"Yes, Puppet. It was very successful. You should have been there to hear the boy scream in agony, in pain. It was enjoyable." The Master let out a chuckle, remembering the broken angel's screams. "It was music to my ears, to hear all of that."

Puppet seemed to frown, to the Master's dismay. The Puppet didn't seem to have approval over the Master's actions, and the Master needed to know why.

"Puppet. Do you have something you need to say about this?" He asked gently, concerned for his partner.

The Puppet seemed to hesitate, before he spoke up. "...Is hurting people really necessary?" He asked, as he finished bandaging the cuts. He moved on to the other arm, bandaging that one as well.

"If we want to give them a warning, or if we have no choice in the situation but to implement violence, yes." The Master replied smoothly. "And...The Hierophant tortured Pit back then, too, during the Cagemaster reigning over the Smashers with her power."

Just because the two were simply Subspace-created clones of the Hierophant and the Magician did not mean that they had no idea of the events that occurred after the Subspace Incident and before now. They knew everything about the Cagemaster's tournament, of how she tortured and killed quite a few Smashers under her rule. They even knew of their alternative versions' pasts, from how they joined the Arcane to what they did during the tournament.

_ And of course, the Master just had to use it to his advantage,_ The Puppet decided in his mind. _He did it to scar the angel Pit Icarus. _Puppet felt a bit bad, even though he wasn't the one who did this, and wished, for a moment, that he could console the angel.

The Puppet paused once more in bandaging his Master, and responded to him. "I don't know...I think it just makes things worse."

Of course,_ before_ consolation towards the angel could happen must come conversation with the Master.

* * *

Pit tried to block out the previous events in his head, but it wasn't working. He tried counting sheep, trying to keep his eyes closed, and even tried to think happy thoughts.

He could still remember all of it. Nothing was working at all.

_Blood. Screaming. _And worst of all, the maniacal _laughter _that trailed on and on...

It was much worse than when the Hierophant had tortured him after that time he had dinner with Illustria and the Magician. Much, much worse.

He looked at the clock. It was now 3:00 a.m.

There was no way he was going to get some sleep now, with the screams, laughter, and the dripping of blood stuck in his head.

Or at least, not until he heard the soft hum of a lullaby, coming from none other than the Cagemaster. He opened his eyes, and glanced towards her quietly as she paced towards him. The next thing he knew...

He felt the presence of a hand stroking his messy brown hair, the gentle lullaby continuing. It was as if a sudden, but mellow (and, he hated to admit, somewhat pleasurable in a sense) relief had come to him, drawing him away from the nightmares and towards the peaceful dreams.

Maybe he could get some sleep after all.


	17. Containment

**_17. Containment_**

Pit blinked his eyes open, before realizing there was a hand intertwined with his left hand. He slowly, quietly turned his head to the left, to see the familiar face and pretty black hair.

Illustria. Why was she here? Perhaps she had heard of him being attacked last night, and-?

Oh, right. She had been here last night, to comfort him. She even sang him a lullaby, and-

Dang it, he really needed to thank her, as soon as she woke up. He really owed her one for helping him get to sleep, after the Puppetmaster had attacked him so mercilessly the previous night. After making her more upset at their last conversation, she had still been there for him, and he appreciated it a lot.

"Mm?" The angel turned to see the Cagemaster's eyes flutter open. "Pit? Are you awake?" She appeared to blush a little bit, embarrassed that he had been watching her sleep.

"Yeah. Morning." He replied quietly, sitting up so he could face her properly. "I'm fine, and..." He hesitated, before speaking again. Hopefully she could calm down-he hadn't meant to embarrass her, after all. "Thank you, Illustria. For being here. And for...helping me get to sleep last night. I really appreciate it, I mean it."

He saw a sliver of a smile appear on her face, before she responded. "You're welcome, Pit." She was smiling at him, and he couldn't help but smile back.

Before anything else could happen, though, Terow burst into the room, panting a bit to catch his breath.

"What's going on?" Illustria asked, suddenly becoming more alert and focusing her attention on the teen, who pushed a few locks of hair out of his face before blurting out everything.

"The Hierophant and the Magician are missing! I think they might have-might have snuck out last night, after Pit was attacked...and..." He took a deep breath before finishing. "I think they went after the Puppet and Master."

Illustria's eyes widened in shock, before she bolted out of her chair and out of the room. Pit thought he heard her say something under her breath that sounded like _"Idiots,"_ as she left, but he wasn't completely sure. He turned towards Terow, who had regained more composure by now, and the teen paused before speaking up again.

"We should go after her."

"Yeah." Pit muttered quickly, before the two rushed after the Cagemaster.

* * *

The rest of the Arcane, as well as Kirby and Meta Knight, had decided to help them. The other Smashers were keeping watch over Smash Mansion-just in case Tabuu tried to strike again. Sun had objected at first over Kirby going, but Meta Knight and Strength both insisted that they would 'protect Kirby and make sure that he will leave alive if everyone else ends up in the worst case scenario,' as quoted at first by Strength and an interrupted finish by Meta Knight.

Inside the abandoned building, the Puppet and Master were in a troubling situation concerning their captives.

"Don't you _dare_ lower that knife on my fiance's throat, or you'll die!" The Hierophant threatened as his Subspace clone held a knife to the Magician's throat. The brown-haired Arcane member was tied up and restrained by several, transparent ribbons. The Puppet glanced at the Magician, who was unconscious, and the Master, who held a razor-sharp knife to the Magician's throat and was ready to kill at any second. "You heard me, you-"

"Shut up or he _will_ die." The Master snapped back, glaring at the Hierophant. "You think that you and your husband-to-be can go sneak up on us and try to use aggression to get us to apologize to the angel boy? I don't think so!"

"Uh...Erm...Master? I'm n-not sure if-" The Puppet stuttered at first, but he then composed himself and spoke up again. "We already beat them up a lot...Isn't it enough?"

The Master was quiet for a moment, pondering Puppet's question. He paused, before looking up at the others and giving a response. Neither the Puppet or Hierophant liked the look in his eyes-it was one filled with panic, as if he just realized he did something wrong because the adult guardians were glaring at him.

"...It's more than enough. No, it's...it's too much..."

Before anyone else could speak, everything else that followed became a blur of shouts and gunshots, finished with a pained cry from the Puppet and a horrified scream from the Master.

_"Give him back! Give him back! Don't you dare take him away from me!"_

The Master and Puppet were now contained and separate from each other.

* * *

"So," Strength started, eyeing the Master in the eye. "What's your agenda? Are you in league with Tabuu or not?"

The Master paused, eyeing not just Strength but the Sun, Meta Knight, the Devil and Terow, who were also with him.

"First off," The Master started, adjusting himself in the seat where he was chained to try to get comfortable, "My agenda is simply to survive. With the Puppet, of course. I have to take care of him. And second...I don't really want to be with that rainbow fairy, so I think you already know the answer to the second question." He smirked slightly, before adding, "Oh, and I'm just wondering...will I be allowed to talk to my...original copy?"

"Original copy is an oxymoron." Terow murmured under his breath, but the Master heard it.

"Brilliant deduction, boy." The Hierophant's Subspace clone spoke up, smiling a little at Terow, who just gave him a blank expression. "You're a smart one, aren't you?"

"Why should we let you talk to the Hierophant? You threatened to murder his fiance, and honestly I think he's still trying to calm down from that incident. I don't think now would be a good time..." The Sun answered the Master's question. "I suggest that it would be best for you to not do anything like this again-otherwise the Hierophant probably will kill you. Or the Cagemaster or Devil, if not him."

"And not you?"

Sun bit her lip, before answering. "Only if I have to."

The Devil and Meta Knight stayed silent as the interrogation continued, doing nothing but observing the Master quietly.

* * *

"What was it like living with the Master, Puppet?" The Magician asked, sitting opposite the Puppet. He, Samus, Illustria, Pit, and Death were interrogating the Puppet in a room separate from the Master.

The Puppet was silent, and his eyes nervously shifted from Death, to Pit, to Samus, to Illustria, and back to the Magician. He looked completely too scared to say a thing.

"I think he wants me to speak with him in private-I think he'll be more comfortable that way." The Magician told the others, who nodded and left the room. They stayed behind the shut door, listening as the Puppet continued. "...Is that better?"

"...Better." The Puppet admitted after a moment of hesitation. "Thank you."

The Magician noted the smile that appeared on the Puppet's face. It was fragile, like broken glass. "Is it okay if you tell me what it was like living with the Master, before we brought you here?"

The Puppet paused, nodded, and took a deep breath before starting to speak.

* * *

**Author note: It's been too long since I have updated this fic. I am so sorry for the super-long delay...I'm probably going to alternate between updating this fic, 'Rebirth,' and 'Clarity' for a while, but I have also entered a contest, so I'm working on the entry for that, too. Thanks for your patience!**


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